Motor-cycle.



, PATEN'IED NOV. 10, 1903-.

H B. RUGGLES..

MOTOR CYCLE:

i'PELIOATION FILED SEPT. 16, 1902.

no menu.

I WITNESSES.-

lfio. 743,755,

UNITED STATES Patented November 10, 1903.

PATENT OFFICE.

M OTOR-CYC LE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 743,755, dated November 10, 1903. Application filed heptemher 16, 1902. Serial No. 123,610. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, IIIBBERT B. RUGGLES, a citizen of theUnited States, and a resident of Brooklyn, New York city, in the county of Kings and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in 1340-. tor-Cycles, of which the following is a specigeneral safety, and the construction beingsuch as to reduce the first cost, simplify the arrangement, and afiord general points of convenience and efficiency in operation. These points of advantage are rendered possible by the peculiarly-novel construction of frame and arrangements of its accessories, whereby "the riders feet may always be in close proximity to the ground while the vehicle is in motion or otherwise,- the rests or pedals (as the case may be) being thus brought to the lowest possible point.

Other advantages due to my improved construction and arrangement will be apparent to the users of the new machine and to those skilled in the art to which the invention appertains.

I will describe a preferred form of motorcycle constructed according to my improvements and will then point out the novel features in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figurel is a side view of a motor-cycle constructed according to my invention. Fig. 2 is atop view of same; and Fig. 3 is a transverse vertical sectional elevation, enlarged, of the front fork and the contiguous parts.

Referring to the said drawings, 1 is the front wheel, 2 the rear wheel, 3 3 the two sides of the wheel-fork, and 4 4 the handle-bar.

The front-wheel fork and the manner of its construction, with the frame, are shown more particularly in Fig. 3. Referring to this figure, it will be seen that the fork comprises the two sides 3 3, as above stated, which are of angularly-bent irons, by preference chanof the rear wheel.

nel-irons, having their open sides facing outward. These are united by a transverse connecting-piece 5, brazed or riveted to them, from which extends upwardly a tubing 6, over the enlarged upper and lower ends of which fits the front connecting-tubing l0, and over the top of this again is placed a transverse piece '7, suitably secured at its ends to the pieces 3 3. The handle-bars may be of ordinary construction, and the stem 23 of the handle-bar passes down through the piece 7 into the tubing 6, as shown by dotted lines in Fig. 3, and isrigidiy secured to the latter by a clamping-sleeve 24 or in any suitable manner. The usual ball-bearings may be provided as shown or as will be well understood by those skilled in the art.

The frame proper of the bicycle is composed of two sides, between which are borne the motor, the fuel-tank, and other parts, as hereinafter described. Each of these sides is composed of an upper member 8 and a lower member 9, bent approximately into the shape shown in Fig. 1. shown as composed of channel-iron, having the open side facing outward; but this is not essential. The front ends are brazed or otherwise suitably secured to the fork-tubing 10, into which the shaft or part6 extends, and their rear ends are secured to castings 11, through which extends. the ends of the axle During the greater portion of their distance the two sides of the frames are separated by a considerable space, as shown in Fig. 2. j

The motor which must of necessity be employed with my invention may be of any suitable construction, size, and shape. The sides of the crank-casing 12 should preferably, however, be provided with lugs 13, arranged in pairs, as shown in Fig. 1. When the m0- tor is placed in position between the sides of the frame, the cylinder thereof will extend upward and slant backward somewhat, so as to afford a direct and conveniently-located support for the seat 19, as will be further described. The members 8 and 9 of each side of the frame lie between said lugs 13, in the manner shown in Fig. 1, and press closely against the motor-casing, as shown in Fig. 2. Bolts 14 are then passed through the said members, respectively, and through the mo- These members 8 and 9 are tor-casing, this construction serving the double purpose of holding the sides of the motor together and holding the sides of the frame to the motor.

In front of the motor and also between the sides of the frame is the tank 15. This is preferably constructed of sheet metal and has the edges of its upper and lower sides provided with suitable flanges or with lugs, so that bolts 16 may be passed through the members of the sides of the frame and also through the flanges orlugs'of the tank. A triangular extension 17 of the tank 15 is secured bysimilar bolts and flanges below the main tank 15.

The said tank is primarily intended to carry. the gasolene or other fuel for the motor, but

intend to file a supplementary application for patent, is shown in the drawings,and may be thus described:

The cylinder of the motor extends upward and backward, as before mentioned and as shown in Fig. 1. From its upper end may extend rods 18 or other supporting means for the seat 19. second seat 20 may be pivotally attached.

On each side of the rear wheel is a triangular frame, composed of two long bars or pieces of tubing 21, brazed or otherwise secured together at their lower ends and pivotally borne upon the wheel-axle, and a shorter connecting-piece 22, which unites the outer ends of the members2l. These two triangular frames, one on each side of the wheel, are also united at their upper portions by suitable transverse connecting-pieces. (Not shown in the drawings.) The resultant structure constitutes a support for the seat 20 when in the position shown in the drawings; but if its position be reversed so that it hangs directlydownward from the axle and pieces 22 and the short transverse connecting-pieces rest upon the ground under the rear wheel, which is'then lifted slightly from the ground, the structure then constitutes a rest or support for the motorcycle, adapted to maintain the same in an upright position when not in use.

A motor-cycle constructed according to my invention comprises, of course, a complete motor and means for controlling the same, means for feeding the fuel from the tank to the motor, the necessary means for exploding the charge of fuel in the motor, and similar devices and parts, all of which, however, are well known to theart and therefore need not be described here. It may also, if desired, be

provided with pedals, so as to be capable of being propelled by the rider.

It will be evident that my invention is not necessarilylimited to the use of an explosion- To the back of the seat 19 a' motor, but that by suitably modifying the construction hereinabove described in ways which will be evident to those skilled in the art motors of various kinds can be used without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention.

To recapitulate, among the principal advantages of my invention are the following: By having a frame composed of two sides, the motor, tank, &c., being placed between them, much greater strength is secured than when one frame alone is used and the motor bolted to one side. frame constructed of angnlarly-bent iron instead of the ordinary tubing I secure practically all the strength of the tubing without the danger of collapse which is always present when bolts are passed through tubing. By having the motor-case provided with the lugs 13, between which the members 8 and 9 of the frame lie, and having said members press closely against the motor-casing, being secured by bolts, great strength and rigidity are secured, and by having the tanks'placed between the two sides of the frame and firmly bolted thereto this strength and rigidity is increased, the result being that the motorcasing and the tanks become practically parts vof the frame, greatly increasing the strength of the same without adding any weight. By placing the motor in the location and the position shown and described it becomes a seatpost, and its position permits of a greater cooling action of the air on the cylinder than would be the case if the motor were horizontal, or nearly so.

It must be understood that while I have described an eminently serviceable construction and arrangement for carrying my improvements into effect I do not limit myself to the precise details set forth, as the same may be modified, reduced, or amplified without departing from the essential principles or sacrificing the advantages of the invention.

What I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is as follows:

1. In a motor-cycle, a frame uniting the front-wheel fork and the rear wheel, composed of two substantially similar sides or parts, approaching each other at the front and rear ends but being separated by a substantial distance intermediate the ends, each of said sides comprising a plurality of reaches or connecting members one above the other,

each of said reaches being formed of angularly-bent iron, substantially as setforth.

2. In a motor-cycle, the combination with a frame uniting the front-wheel fork and the rear wheel, composed of two substantially similar sides or parts, approaching each other at the front and rear ends but having a substantial space between them intermediate the ends, each of said sides comprisinga plurality of reaches or connecting members, one above the other; of a motor located between the sides of said frame and rigidly secured to said reaches by bolts which pass through By having the members of the Marts said reaches and through said motor, substantially as set forth.

3. In a motor-cycle, the combination with a frame uniting the front-wheel fork and the rear wheel, composed of two substantially similar sides or parts, approaching each other at the front and rear ends but having a substantial space between them intermediate the ends, each of said sides comprising a pluralw ity of reaches or connecting members, one above the other; of a motor located between the sides of said frame and rigidly secured to said reaches, said motor having its cylinder projecting upward and forming a support for the seat of the bicycle.

4. In a motor-cycle, the combination with a frame extending from the front-wheel fork to the rear-wheel axle, such'frame beingcomposed of two substantially similar sides or parts each of which comprises a plurality of reaches or connecting members arranged one above the other, a tank embraced by said side frames and extending between points behind the fork and near the crank or motor axle, a motor also embraced by the side frames and having its cylinder projecting upwardly and rearwardly so as to afiord a seatpost, and bolts extending through the members of the side frames and through portions of the tank, and through the side frames and motor-casing, respectively, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

5. In a motor-cycle, the combination with a frame extending from the front-wheel fork to therear-wheel axle, such frame being composed of the two substantially similar sides or parts each of which comprises a plurality of reaches or connecting members formed of angularly-bent metal and arranged one above the other, a tank embraced by said side frames and extending between points behind the fork and near the crank or motor axle, the sides of such tank having flanges contacting the side frames, a motor-the casing of-which is provided with lugs at each sidealso embraced by the side frames and having its cylinder projecting upwardly and rearwardly so as to afford a seat-post, and bolts extending through the members of the side frames and through the tank-flanges, and through the side frames and lugs on the motor-casing, respectively, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

6. In a motor-cycle, the combination with a frame made up of two side pieces eachcomposed of a plurality of bars formed from angularly-bent metal, and with the stem of the handle-bar, of a section of tubing carrying ball-bearing members at top and bottom and to which tubing the bars of the frame are connected, a smaller tube within such section of tubing and carrying the other members of the ball-bearings, and also receiving the handlebar stem, and a front-wheel fork the sides of which are formed of angularly-bent-metal, and having transverse connecting-pieces between such sides immediately above and below the tubes and ball-bearings,substantially, as set forth.

Signed at New York city, in the county of New York and State of New York, this 12th day of September, A. D. 1902.

HIBBERT B. RUGGLES.

Witnesses: v

EDMOND CONGAR BROWN, PETER A. Ross. 

